(no subject)

[student_of_impossibility]

It is with a deeply pensive and somewhat abstracted expression that Octavian walks into Milliways. His emotions are always complex and often contradictory; today that is evident in the sure, confident way he walks, with energy patiently coiled to use--set against the faintest, almost unnoticeable hints of weariness and vague impatience in his eyes. Hard to see, but anyone who knows him well can definitely see it.

He is also rubbing his wrists mildly absently. A closer look might reveal the slight knicks and bruises, as if there had been shackles there.

Tavi's life: always exciting.

The sight of the Bar earns a faintly amused raised eyebrow, and even a small smile of relief, as he relaxes visibly before waving a waitrat over. Somewhere in that gesture the princeps and captain fade from his overt bearing. (They'll never fade entirely; they are, after all, part of him now.)

It's not long before he's in a booth with a slowly disappearing meal in front of him. If he's quiet, and occasionally simply closes his eyes for a little, he does at seem relatively at ease.

For a few moments, at least, he can just be Tavi.

Comments

[witchfinder_general]

At a table near the door is a serious-looking middle-aged man, with dark clothes and a white stripe in his dark hair, drinking tea.

There are books and a laptop computer on the table, but they are all closed.

The man nods at Tavi as he enters.

"You seem as glad to find the bar as I am," he says, conversationally.

[student_of_impossibility]

Tavi nods back and then smiles ruefully.

"I usually am--I don't really know why anyone wouldn't be," he admits. Though maybe if other people don't have political intrigue and assassinations and wars and committing treason for the greater good to deal with... well, maybe then they'd prefer to stay home.

Maybe?

[witchfinder_general]

"People who are Bound, for example, and miss their family at home," the man answers.

[student_of_impossibility]

"But they're not finding the Bar," Tavi points out.

Because hairs are for splitting.

[witchfinder_general]

"Only because the bar has found them first," the man points out.

Yep. Splitting hairs is apparently fun.

[street_sparrow]

Oh good, a distraction. Gavroche wanders over and sits down.

"Hello, Scipio."

[student_of_impossibility]

Tavi opens his eyes and smiles at Gavroche.

"Hello. Sit--would you like something to eat?"

[street_sparrow]

"Love it", he says easily, no strain in his voice although there's just a touch around his eyes. "What're you having?"

[student_of_impossibility]

Tavi is very used to that attempt to hide strain--he and people he knows do it all the time--but also that worry is particularly obvious right now. Maybe partly because he's juggling so many concerns of his own; maybe residual memory of feeling his mother's emotions as she finally spoke about Septimus.

Either way, he's concerned now.

Like Gavroche, though, he keeps it out of his face and voice for now and just waves at his plate. Steak and chips is the order of the day, with some bread and oil and a salad on the side and some ale--and a basket of paradoxes. Because comfort food.

(It is really too bad he's going to get seasick in not too long.)

"Not actually something we get at home," he notes, "but I just told Bar I wanted the bread, the paradoxes, ale--and as complete a meal as could manage. Furies know I could use it. What do you want?"

[death_gone_mad]

While Tavi rest his eyes, the is a redheaded teenaged girl who approaches, considers the remaining food and the man at the table, and decides to sit. And find out how much food she can steal.

Sure, the guy looks very capable of possible hurting her if he catches her. Well, at least the person she is pretending to be, especially since she has chosen to sit. But his bruises and his mannerisms interest her. It is a strange calculation that leads her to do it. The bruises might mean he would be unwilling to visit the cells upstairs, but if a fight breaks out, it might be fun. Sitting down might even earn her pity points for foolishly complicating her escape route...

[student_of_impossibility]

"Anything there is a multitude of, you are welcome to sample," Tavi remarks as she sits, without so much as opening his eyes. "Touch the steak and I may have to challenge you to a duel."

This while reaching for and taking a calm drink of his ale.

[death_gone_mad]

Caught!

There is a silence, as 'Sarah' decides what to day.

Then the sampling begins again. "Thank you, sir, that is very generous of you."

"You have good ears, by the way," she says after finishing with munching on a bit of food.

Hmmm, the steak is tempting, but why wreck a potentially pleasant conversation so soon?

[student_of_impossibility]

He pushes the oil a bit closer to her--it had been near him, as he hadn't needed to share before. And as far as he's concerned, bread and spices and oil is about as good as the basic necessities go as there is in the multiverse.

"I feel like I could eat a gargant or two," he admits, "but that's no reason not to share."

At the 'good ears' comment he smiles slightly, lopsided. "As many centurions as I've listened to bellowing at the top of their lungs, I'm surprised they're as good as they are."

It was not necessarily his ears that noticed her presence.

[electro_kinetic]

"Well. You look good," says Noriko.

"Short of the wrists."

[student_of_impossibility]

Tavi laughs quietly and opens his eyes. "I've been much worse," he admits. "How are you?"

As he asks, he waves for her to sit if she'd like. He needs some distraction from over-focusing on the part where he's stealing a nine-foot, furry, high-security, vicious wolf-like prisoner from the most secure prison in the Realm.

Which he helped design upgrades for a few years ago.

[electro_kinetic]

See, Noriko would be pretty amenable to listening to that, it sounds like trying to manhandle one of her former classmates.

"I'm not bad. Got a job, that's pretty nice."

[student_of_impossibility]

When it's all over, he'll be happy to discuss the ins and outs of breaking one's own security systems and sneaking out nine-foot wolves.

He needs to do it first, though. (And kill a couple people.)

"A job?" he asks with some interest. "That's wonderful. Doing what? Oh, would you like something to eat?"

[vorpatril]

Ivan enters and nods to Tavi on his way to the counter, he needs a drink. His uncle and then Rish were all unhelpful and now the simple plan is complicated.

[student_of_impossibility]

Tavi knows that look. (Admittedly, he sees it more often on other people's faces when he gets creative and they have to deal with the consequences.)

"You look like a man in need of a stiff drink," he observes. "And possibly a stiff board to hit someone over the head with."

[vorpatril]

"I'm not allowed to do that, he's my uncle and my Count, my mother would hurt me, but I'll take the drink,"

He's in uniform as he was at the Count's court and sits down on the seat across from Tavi.

[student_of_impossibility]

Tavi pushes the basket of bread and the little plate of oil and spices toward Ivan and waves down a waitrat. The gesture may make his wrists--and the marks on them--slightly more evident.

Tavi is Legion dress uniform himself, having just come from a meeting with Cyril. "Mine wouldn't either," he replies ruefully, "but my uncle isn't my Count exactly anymore, and I'm more likely to be the one getting hit over the head than he is."

Which is... surprising honesty, coming from Tavi.

[a1enzo]

Ping? A chatilus approaches, followed by a sprite.

"Hey, Scipio."

[student_of_impossibility]

Tavi looks up at the ping, expression bemused despite knowing what (who?) Minus is.

"Hello, Enzo. How are you?"

[a1enzo]

"Mostly good. You?"

[student_of_impossibility]

"Well enough." But he raises an eyebrow. "Mostly good?"

It implies something less good, after all. Thus he has concerns. (Considering he's got cuts and bruises from manacles on his wrists, yes, he is mildly a hypocrite.)